Looking Forward, Looking Back
by sellthelie
Summary: Draco & Hermione: It all comes together.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Belongs to JK Rowling**

**Looking Forward, Looking Back**

**1/1**

* * *

"You do realise this is all your fault?"

"My fault!" She shouted, "I fail to see how your complete ineptness is my fault."

"If you hadn't turned up it wouldn't have all turned to shite in a matter of seconds, I was handling the situation and you completely fucked it up."

"Handling it! They were going to kill you, if you were _handling_ it any better you would be dead right now!"

"Yeah well I might as well be for all the good I'll be able to do now," coming closer, Draco leaned down, "I think it's mighty clear to them now what side I'm on, that my dear is how you fucked it up. If you hadn't come barrelling in there, ready to save me, I'd be some fricken use to the Order, I would be able to get inside information, but now... fucking impossible."

Staring unflinchingly into his eyes, "They were torturing you, probably two seconds away from the Killing Curse, and ending it all. I'm pretty bloody sure they were already aware of what side you were truly on, or do they do that as a form of greeting nowadays? Anyway, I really don't care if you can't go to them now, because given a choice as we are so rarely allowed lately, I'd pick a live useless you, over a dead spy."

"Well you may not get that lucky, seen as you painted a target on my back," running his hands through his hair, "Damn it Granger, what the hell were you doing there anyway?"

"I was keeping an eye on things, for more than a few good reasons I was nervous, _proven right too._ I wanted to be nearby if something went wrong, no one else wanted to be there, they all said you would be able to handle it, but I couldn't leave you there all alone..."

"So now I'm your pet? Your child? The new charity case? I knew this was a mistake," he spat, gesturing between them, before beginning to pace the floor. "We should have fucking waited till this was all over, it's going to bugger everything up, it's started already."

"Don't you dare, don't you bloody well dare. I wanted this, you wanted this, and I'm not waiting for this bloody war to be over till I did what I wanted for once, we have no idea what's going to happen, we have to take these chances now while we have the chance, not sit around waiting for this all to end, and maybe if we are lucky still be alive and able to pursue it."

"Well it may have just screwed everything up. Feelings get in the way, they confuse us, impare our judgement, and tonight it could have fucking killed us both," shaking his head, "Waiting in this case wouldn't be a bad bloody idea."

"Please don't," she whispered, "I need this, I need you, I need one good thing in all this destruction. We'll have to change things, but don't end this. It's the only good thing at the moment..."

The silence was exruciating, every second felt like forever. Till he spoke again, "I just need some time to myself to think, just give me that." Crossing the room, he kissed her forehead quickly, "I'll be back soon."

She just stood there nodding her head dumbly, her mind screaming that it was a bad idea to let him go, but knowing she couldn't stop him.

_"Hermione, come on out of here."_

Turning around she saw Harry standing behind her, "This isn't healthy at all, there is nothing else to see here, please come with me."

Shaking her head, she watched her memory of herself, slowly sit down on a chair, watching the door as if she was expecting him to walk in at any moment. "I know there isn't anything else, I don't know what else to do."

"He'll come back Hermione," he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Lets get of here." She reached back and took a hold of his hand for the ascent out of the pensieved memory. "I don't think you should go down there anymore, it's not helping you, it's making it worse."

"I need to do something Harry, it's been two months now, he said he'd be back soon," blinking her eyes rapidly, "I miss him. I want him back here, safe."

"I know you do," wrapping her in his arms, "We will find him, I promise."

"I just feel so useless," she cried into his shoulder, "There is nothing to go on, absolutely nothing, it's like he disappeared as soon as he stepped outside that door."

_

* * *

"Disgraceful blood traitors, shouldn't be here, dirtying the floor of..."_

"Will someone shut her up!" And with Ron's screech from beside her, she jolted awake, wand in hand, ready to face whatever it was... in this case the portrait of Mrs. Black.

"Idiots," she muttered to herself, stalking out into the entryway, "What did you geniuses do this time to wake her up?" Waving her wand, she performed the spell to close the curtains before she saw her. That was a noise she really didn't need to hear today. "Well?" She asked raising an eyebrow at a sheepish Neville and a grinning twin.

"Seems Longbottom forgot to tie his laces this morning, and tripped over, grabbing the curtains as he fell," George laughed, "But no harm done."

"Is that right Neville?" She asked skeptically, Neville may be many things, but he wasn't the clumsy boy he used to be.

"Yeah, that's what happened. Should be more careful yeah?" He said quickly, blushing to the roots of his hair.

"Be for the best," she smiled, watching him turn and walk away. She then proceeded to grab George, and drag him into the kitchen. "What did you do to him?" She whispered fiercely.

"Nothing, you heard the boy, he tripped on his shoelaces," shaking his head, "Show a little faith in me Hermione, what would I do to Nev?"

"I don't know, but you'd do something, someone doesn't trip over their laces when they are wearing boots, pull-on_ boots." _

"Uh, well didn't see that now did I?" Grinning at her, "It wasn't anything serious, and it was supposed to be Ronnie anyway."

Sighing to herself she ran her hands over her face, trying valiantly not to go off at George. As much as it annoyed her, their jokes and pranks did lighten the mood of the house, but today was not the day for it. Too many thoughts were running through her mind, too much to do. Add not nearly enough sleep to the mix, and even in her opinion she was a walking time bomb preparing to explode at any moment.

"Why don't you sit down Hermione," George said, "You don't look so good, I'll make you a cuppa hey?" He said ushering her over to the table.

"Just a cuppa?" She asked.

"Promise," he laughed, "Saving the good stuff for a special occasion, quite fond of the idea of Ronnie being..."

He stopped talking, and she jumped out of the chair as the floo lit up and out stumbled Hagrid, with what seemed to be a body in his arms. "Where's Molly?" He asked urgently.

"She's not here," George said quickly, "She's gone to the hospital to visit a few people, what is it? Who is that?"

"Malfoy," he said, "He was skulking around Hogsmeade, as soon as I got to him he clear collapsed."

Swallowing rapidly, "Let's take him upstairs, I'll do what I can till Mrs. Weasley gets back."

"Hermione... " George started.

"No George," she said firmly, "You heard Harry, you know what happened, now Hagrid follow me, and George you go tell everyone, but they are not to come up, only your mum. Okay?" She saw him nod his head rather reluctantly, "Thanks, come on Hagrid. We'll take him to the room near the washroom."

pull-on

* * *

After Harry had ensured that Hermione was in fact going to actually rest upstairs instead of poring over more books in an effort to distract herself, he went into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. It seemed Ron had read his mind as he had just placed two steaming mugs on the table, sinking into a chair. He grabbed one, "Thanks mate," he sighed, taking a refreshing sip, still much too hot.

"How is she?" Ron asked.

"As well as she can be I suppose," he said, "I don't know what else we can do, there are absolutely no bloody leads, it's one dead end after another."

"We shouldn't even be worried about the bloody Ferret," Ron spat, Harry knew this wasn't the way they should be thinking.

"It doesn't matter what we think, or _feel_," he said, "He's important to Hermione, she won't be herself again till he's back, and we need her back, so it's essential that we find out what happened to him."

"Yeah, well you know I don't like it."

Harry knew perfectly well how Ron felt about it, he'd made it very clear after Malfoy had come to the house, and even more clear when he became friends with Hermione. It wasn't just that it was Malfoy, it was Hermione. She had told Ron that she didn't want to be with him as any more than a friend, Ron being Ron had taken it badly. So to see her so happy with Malfoy, and then so distraught when he was missing it hurt him a lot. He didn't say it so much, but it was written all over his face. Harry was pretty sure that Ron had loved Hermione, if he hadn't he was bloody close. He tried to be supportive, but he was wearing thin.

"You know, I think he's dead."

"Mate, come on..."

"Nah I do, I reckon Riddle got him, or one of his cronies and it was sayonara Malfoy."

Harry shook his head, "He wouldn't do it like that. If he got and has, or had Malfoy he'd want us to know. He would have let us know somehow, he'd do something public, make it known."

"Why?"

"To rub it in, he knows Malfoy and Hermione had something between them, he knows how smart Hermione is, and he'd take the most enjoyment from making her suffer, making her useless to help us," Harry put his mug on the table, "He knows what makes people tick, he may be immune to love and all that, but he knows others weaknesses and for us that in a way is Hermione's love for Malfoy. He'd be playing it right to his advantage."

"But he isn't," Ron said.

"So he doesn't have him," Harry said getting up, "And that's a bloody good thing. For Hermione at least."

_

* * *

"No! No bloody way!"_

"Ron..."

"I don't even know why you are bloody well considering this, letting him join the Order, spying_ on them," he spat, "we all know how well that went last time around. Or has you forgotten what happened with Snape?" _

Harry jumped out of his seat, "No Ron, I don't think I'll ever forget what happened, none of us with, but this will be different, can't you see that? Who would suspect a Malfoy_ to turn on Voldemort? Bloody hell Ron, that's his name - Voldemort! Get over it!" _

"But it's Malfoy for fuck sake, I can't believe you think we should trust him, he'd stab as in the back all the while smiling at us, trying to tell us he is on our side."

"We have to trust him, without Snape anymore we are flying blinder than we normally are, and without Dumbledore..." taking a deep breath, "without Dumbledore we need all the help we can get to end this thing and if that means taking Malfoys help then that's what we are going to do."

"I don't trust him, you can't expect me to just step aside and become all buddy buddy with him."

"Hell no mate, I won't be in the same room any longer than I have to be, but you have to understand that he is vital to what we need to do," Harry reasoned, "And you heard what Moody said before, he trusts him, and we all know what it's like to get Moody to trust someone. If we don't trust Malfoy, we should at least trust Moody's judgment."

"Are you boys done?" They turned and saw Hermione standing in the doorway, "We should go talk to Malfoy."

"Yeah alright," Harry said. "Let's get it over with."

As they started climbing the stairs, "Why do you trust him Hermione?" Ron asked, "You out of all of us have more reason to hate Malfoy, but you laid down the welcome mat first."

"I'm not sure really," she sighed, "It's just that he came to us of his own free will, he's all alone now, everything he ever loved has been taken away from him. And wants to help us for all the right reasons, he wants to get rid of Voldemort pure and simple. We need him on our side, but not as much as he needs to be on our side."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked.

"He needs to make amends for what he did and what he nearly did, and this is the way it must be done." Knocking on the door to his room, "Don't make this anymore difficult than it is for him okay?" Looking at them to make sure they both were in agreement, "he's on our side remember."

* * *

spyingMalfoyTo be continued, please leave me some feedback:) 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Belongs to JK Rowling**

**Looking Forward, Looking Back**

**1/1**

**

* * *

**She knew they were down there talking about her, worrying about her. It was of some comfort, it was good to know that they cared about her. But they just didn't understand. Sure, they had experienced loss in all this fighting, but they could have their loss right there in front of them. They could accept it and try and move on. She didn't know what had happened to Draco. Was he alive? Was he dead? 

What the bloody hell had happened?

It seemed impossible for someone to just walk outside, and never be seen again. Did he go back to Voldemort? to try and prove that he was on their side? Or did they find him, and deal with him on their own? Or did he run by himself? If he did, where? There were too many questions, and there was no answers for any of them.

It made it near on impossible to concentrate on helping Harry, though he was understanding about it all, really. He knew why she was so distracted. And he did his best to empathize, plus, he was better than Ron. He made an effort to accept her relationship with Draco, where as Ron would just stand to the side and shoot dirty looks at them, or make snide comments when he didn't think she was listening. He had held back on that now, for which restraint she was grateful. But she knew, she could tell that he didn't like it.

That wasn't her main concern at the moment, however: Ron just wasn't important to her as he used to be. He was still one of her closest friends, and he always would be. She just had different priorities now, and priority one was: Get Draco Back.

She didn't find the situation remotely funny, but she could see the especially dry irony in the situation. A boy she had, over six years, grown to despise, to loathe with every fiber of her being, had become so very important to her. In the days following his 'disappearance', she had been a wreck. She couldn't eat, she barely slept, her nerves played havoc on her. It had gotten better over the days, but it was still hard. Every little thing reminded her of him. The sugar bowl: he had exactly one and a half teaspoons of sugar in his coffee in the morning, as he positively abhorred tea. It had taken weeks before she stopped crying at the smell of coffee in the morning. She still couldn't drink it.

* * *

_It was cold, stone cold, was her main thought as she tried to get the fire in the kitchen going. She wanted to get the fire going before Mrs. Weasley came in to start getting the breakfast. It was the least she could do for her. She constantly ran around after everyone, while Hermione herself was next to useless in the kitchen, so this was the only way she could see herself being of use. _

The sound of someone coming down the stairs startled her for a moment, but she continued on placing the wood in the stove. She assumed it was Mrs. Weasley.

"What on earth are you doing Granger?"

Malfoy.

"Getting the fire started, what do you think I'm doing?" She snapped.

"Wasn't entirely sure, don't you have House Elves for those kind of things?"

"No we don't." She got up of her knees, wiping her hands on her pants, "And if we did, I'd still be doing it. We are not reliant on House Elves here Malfoy, you'd do well to remember that."

"Yes, I can tell," he said disdainfully, looking around the kitchen, "Doesn't look like an Elf has touched this room in years."

She could feel her temperature rising, "Is there something you wanted Malfoy?"

"I was hoping for some breakfast," he said, sitting down at the table, "Any chance of some?"

"You'll have to wait," she answered, sitting down opposite him. "I can't cook, so you'll have to wait till Mrs. Weasley comes down."

"Well I'm shocked," he said, placing a hand on his chest, "Hermione Granger can't do something! What is the world coming too to!"

"Shove it Malfoy."

"Oh the language, it's so harsh to my virginial ears."

"I'd be surprised if there was anything virginial left," she retorted.

"Touche Granger."

She afforded herself a small smile, best not to let Malfoy see it. It was one thing to enjoy the conversation, an entirely different kettle of fish to let him know.

"So has the Weasel left you anything of that ilk behind?"

Her head snapped up, "Excuse me?"

"Did Weaselbee leave you anything of value to share, or did he blow his wad on Brown?"

"Oh my, you little... I really do not want to have this conversation with you. Whatever happens between Ron and me , and what happened between him and Lavender is none of your bloody business," she snapped, pushing her chair back.

"Good morning," Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully as she bustled into the kitchen. "You two are up bright and early."

Hermione gave her a small smile, glad that she had arrived when she did. She couldn't let Malfoy get the better of her. Riling her up about Ron, and Lavender. Prat!

"Now who's up for some breakfast?" Mrs. Weasley asked, tying an apron around her waist.

"Sounds wonderful, let me help you," Hermione said, with one last glare at Malfoy, she left him sitting at the table.

* * *

"...I think he's dead."

Hermione stopped in her motion towards the kitchen, listening as Ron explained his thoughts on Draco to Harry. He was wrong, she was sure of that. She just knew he wasn't, she would know if he was, she wasn't sure how or why she felt that way. But she knew she would feel different if he was gone.

"But he isn't," she heard Ron say.

"So he doesn't have him, and that's a bloody good thing. For Hermione at least."

"Thank you Harry," she whispered to herself. It felt so good to hear someone say what she was feeling. It validated her thoughts to her. Harry understood and he agreed with her. She continued on her way into the kitchen.

Harry was standing beside the sink rinsing a cup, and Ron was reading the day's paper. "So what's happening?" She asked sitting down opposite Ron, and taking an apple out of the bowl in front of her.

"What, other than us hitting the books, and trying to figure out what the next Horcrux is supposed to be?" Ron asked, "Nothing, same as yesterday, and the day before, and if I remember rightly, just like the day before that one."

"Aren't you Mister Positive today," Harry said.

"Ain't a whole lot to be positive about, anymore," he answered quietly.

"We will push on regardless," Harry said, joining them at the table. "So what's the plan? Books, or books?"

"I vote for books, with books coming in a close second," she smiled at him. He had matured a lot since that night when Professor Dumbledore died. He knew the seriousness of the situation, but he was much more relaxed about it all now.

"Books it will be then," he laughed, getting up he exited the kitchen, off for another day of pouring over the books, searching for something, anything that would lead them in the right direction.

"Coming Ron?" Hermione asked, getting up, "It's sure to be thrilling."

"Won't it," he said, "I can hardly contain myself."

* * *

_Well, this was productive. The books were there, all the information they could possibly need on the founders of Hogwarts, and other notable wizards and witches, and they were coming up blank. _

Harry and Ron had given up about half an hour ago, and were now throwing fruit back and forth between themselves. She wanted to give in, but she couldn't. It was too important, there was too much riding on it. The future of the Wizarding world, if you will.

"Nice one, mate," she heard Harry laugh, so she looked up from her book and saw what was so funny. Ron missed Harry by a long shot, and now the wall had a new feature, an orange embedded in it. "Good thing you ain't a chaser."

"Will you two focus, already?" She snapped, "This is important, really important. I need your help."

Harry, at least, had the decency to look somewhat sheepish, Ron just looked miffed. Right, who cares about the fate of everyone, lets throw fruit!

"Of course Hermione, sorry," Harry said, sliding in next to her, "So where are we?"

"Nowhere," she sighed, pushing the book away. "There is no mention of Slytherin's locket in any of these texts, I have no idea what to do, where to look. It's one bloody dead end after another."

"We'll figure it out," he said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "We always do."

"Not always," she said quietly, "Last term we didn't, it was right in front of our face, and we missed it all. We let our own personal issues and feelings get in the way of what was important."

"You mean with?" Ron said, nodding his head upwards, referring to Malfoy, who was more than likely in his room, where he had remained since his arrival.

"Yeah, amoung other things," she said.

"We can't focus on that Hermione, there are other things that matter now," pulling a book towards him, "Like figuring out who the hell is R.A.B., things should hopefully fall into place after that."

"Hopefully..." she trailed off, as she heard someone enter the room. No one normally bothered them when they went in her, glancing up quickly she braced herself.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry snapped from beside her. They may all now be on the right side, but there were still six years of animosity to get past.

"Just wondering what the Chosen one and his devotees were up to," he drawled, coming over to the table, "Studying, I see, getting a jump on next year already, Granger?"

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron muttered.

He ignored him, he was looking at the titles of the books they had gathered on the table. "Bloody hell, this is some dark reading material, what the hell are you lot up to?"

* * *

To be continued... 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Belongs to JK Rowling**

**Looking Forward, Looking Back**

**3/?**

-

"What exactly are we looking for again?" Ron asked. His attention span had just about reached the end of its very short tether.

"Something that you think he'd put part of his soul in, Ron," Harry said quietly, "We know what he's already put it in, just look for familiar ground."

"But there is nothing familiar in these darn books!" He snapped, pushing the book away, "It's the same old crap, time after bloody time, I've had enough."

"Ron, please..." Hermione began.

"No, Hermione," Ron said. "We've looked at these books countless times, and I've had just about as much as I can take. We never find anything; it's almost like we are stalling. Trying to find something in nothing."

"We will find something, soon," she said quietly, "We have to keep trying. If we don't... it's like he's winning."

Ron didn't say anything after that. He knew what Hermione was was referencing. He had smartened up a little over the last six months, ever since they had left Hogwarts. Hermione had too, not that she really needed to do a whole lot. But this thing, whatever she had with Malfoy, it had changed her. He'd like to think it was for the better, and in some ways it was. Right now she had a whole lot of fervor for helping to rid them of Voldemort, as if that would bring Draco back. Of course this helped Harry a lot, but it also drove him barmy. He was an action man, if you will, and it was time to _do_ something. There were only so many books he could stomach, none, actually.

Although he was still scared shitless over eventually facing Voldemort, he just wanted it done. Ever since he had embarked on the Hogwarts Express seven years ago now, his life had been one never-ending adventure. And while that had its good moments, it was draining. He just wanted to wake up one morning without a feeling of dread about what the coming day was going to bring, wondering if anyone he knew and/or loved, was going to die. It wasn't a nice feeling. He wanted a normal life, back like it was before he met Harry on the train that day. One with endless Quidditch matches, long days in the sun, just lying around doing absolutely nothing, worrying about nothing. That's what he wanted, and he prayed that he would one day get it.

"This is pointless," Harry muttered, shoving his book away. "We've been through these several times now, Hermione, it's not in here. Whatever it is, there is nothing on it in these books. If you find anything, well, you deserve a prize or something! We'll make you a trophy."

Hermione gave a weak laugh, "I think you're right, it's not here. I was so sure we'd find something in one of these..." And she stopped speaking, with a thunderstruck look on her face.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"A trophy..."

"What trophy?" Ron asked, sharing a puzzled look with Harry.

"I can't believe we didn't think of it, it's so bloody obvious," she muttered, shutting the books. Getting up she started towards the door, "Are you coming?"

"Where are we going?" they asked in unison.

"Hogwarts."

_-_

_"We should tell him," Harry whispered, "He could help us."_

"Are you mad?" Ron asked, "Getting Ferret Boy to help us is the last thing we should do, he'd sooner kill us than help us."

Hermione looked behind them over to the table where Malfoy was sitting, looking through one of the books that was there. And grimacing occasionally at some of the pictures it contained. He couldn't hear what they were saying, of course. She had gotten over her dislike for the Muffliato_ charm in this instance._

"He couldn't hurt us now, Ron, even if he wanted to," she said turning back. "He doesn't have a wand and, Harry and you are much stronger physically than he is. There is no way he could overpower us."

"Well... he could brew a potion or poison our morning juice or something," he said, obviously reaching for anything that would prove him right about Malfoy's untrustworthiness.

"There are no potion supplies left at the house Ronald, unless there is something poisonous growing in the garden, which is more than likely, actually," she retorted, not missing the look of triumph on Ron's face. "Do you know which plants are poisonous, Ron?" He shook his head. "Exactly. I imagine the only one here who does is Neville, or your mum, so I don't think Malfoy has a chance of finding out how, much less, actually poisoning us."

"Whatever," he muttered. "Trusting that wanker is like shaking Snape's hand as soon as he walks in the fucking door. You wouldn't do that, would you Harry?" Harry shook his head. "No, so I won't trust Ferret. End of story."

"Okay then," Harry said, turning to Hermione. "You with me?"

She looked over at Malfoy, who looked up at that moment, and meet her eyes for just a moment, till he looked down again to the book in front of him. Turning to Ron, she knew he wouldn't like this; it was the only option.

"I'm with you Harry, let's tell Malfoy."

Ron just looked at her, and shook his head, clearly disappointed in her. But she had to go with what she thought was right, and Malfoy's help could be invaluable to their cause. They needed him, and Ron would just have to learn to live with it. This wasn't about him, after all. There was a bigger picture that they had to keep their eyes on.

Harry went and sat down opposite Malfoy, and when Hermione sat down next to Harry, he spoke, "So, do you know anything about Horcruxes?"

"Horcruxes? Never heard of them, what are they?" he asked, looking between the two of them.

"It's an object that you place part of your soul in, something you do if you wish to attain immortality," Hermione said. "You can't be killed as long as part of your soul is in it."

"Hmm, well, that sure is interesting," Malfoy said, "So let me guess. Voldemort has created one of these, and you lot have to figure out what it is and get rid of it before you can defeat him?"

"It's not as easy as that," Harry said.

"Why?"

"We believe he created seven of them originally," he said quietly. "With himself being the final one to destroy."

"Oh," Malfoy whispered, "Well, that's a pain."

_-_

Harry wasn't entirely sure what Hermione was on about, but she was incredibly determined it seemed. After ensuring that they were indeed following her from the library, she went to the kitchen, where Remus was just sitting down with the paper, and a fresh cup of tea. She had bustled him out of his seat, saying that he had to come with them, they had to go to Hogwarts, right now. Remus had been powerless to stop her. So now he and Ron were following Remus who was following Hermione who was making her way up the drive to Hogwarts rather quickly.

"Do you have any idea what she is on about mate?" Ron panted beside him.

"Not a bloody clue," Harry answered. "Wish she'd slow down just a bit, though." As soon as they'd apparated to the Hogwarts gates, she again was off at a rapid pace. After the heady feeling of Apparation they had yet to get used to, it was a hard walk up the steadily increasing slope to the castle. It loomed in front of them, containing none of the life it had had before. It was as if a dark cloud had come to hover over it. When all this was over, Harry knew Hermione harbored a desire to return and have a chance to complete her education. He wasn't sure if he could accompany her. Because it just wasn't the same place anymore to him. Without Dumbledore, no matter how he had felt about him the old headmaster at times, it just wouldn't be the same. He didn't think he could do it.

"Are you okay, mate?" Ron asked beside him.

"Yeah," he said, "Fine. Does it seem different to you?" he asked, looking at the castle.

"It does a little, but then I didn't spend a lot of time here in the summer holidays, we never did. But it is different, empty. More than it should be."

They didn't say anything else as they made the rest of the way up to the castle, and Hermione didn't wait for them as she climbed the steps. "Come on boys, we don't have all the time in the world."

Harry had a little laugh to himself, as he and Ron started a light jog to catch up, slowing to a walk as they entered the castle. Hermione was waiting for them a little way down the corridor, "It's strange, isn't it? It's no different than it was before, but it just doesn't feel the same. Are you all right, Harry?"

"Fine," he said stiffly. "So where are we going?"

"The third floor, follow me," she said, rushing off once more.

It seemed that Harry and Ron had no choice but to follow, telling Remus that they'd be back soon. They followed Hermione. As she knew her way better than they did. It was the smartest option.

As they finally stepped off the staircase on the right floor, Ron asked, "So what now?"

"The Trophy Room," she explained. "It should still be there."

They found the room relatively quickly, with Ron reminding them all of the time he had cleaned each and every trophy, all the while burping slugs everywhere. Hermione quickly scanned the displays till she found what she was looking for. "Here it is," she said. "Come over here."

They looked in through the glass at what she was pointing at. "You think that's one?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely," she said.

"But why would he make one, and leave it here right under Professor Dumbledore's nose? It's a bit risky," Ron said.

"My thought is, he went for this because he could, and it's hard to notice. What do you feel when you are at Hogwarts? I mean, what prickles your skin, makes your hair stand on end?"

"The magic," Harry said quietly.

"You wouldn't notice anything off about sensing magic in this room, you feel it everywhere here."

Harry looked at the rather innocuous looking award in the display. It seemed likely to him. That Voldemort would make a Horcrux out of something that Dumbledore could have possibly handed to him, primarily for the thrill of knowing, that Dumbledore had a piece of his soul so close at hand, and having no idea at all.

"Well there is only one way to know for sure," he said, "Let's take it back with us to Grimmauld Place and find out if it is."

_-_

_After they explained to Malfoy what exactly Horcruxes were, what they knew about the ones already destroyed, and the ones that they had yet to discover, she sat herself down on the old sofa in the study. It was rather worn in parts, but still soft enough to ease the pain of sitting at that table for hours on end._

She savoured this time. It wasn't often that she got some time to herself nowadays. There was always some drama that needed to be attended to, and the never-ending study made it more than a little stressful. She needed a little 'just for herself' time, so she lay back properly on the sofa, and closed her eyes. It would just be for a moment, a chance to clear her head. Then she would go back to the books.

Hermione wasn't sure how much time had passed till she felt someone pulling her feet up and the weight on the sofa suddenly shifting to allow another body to sit down, placing her feet over the legs.

She opened her eyes just a little, and saw that it was Ron who was sitting there. He had become increasingly familiar around her lately, with little useless touches and lingering glances. She had no idea what she was going to do about it.

"What is it, Ron?" she asked quietly.

"Why did you agree with Harry, Hermione? I thought you'd have my back on this... on everything, really," he said. She could hear the bitterness in his tone. He was more than annoyed.

"What makes you think that, Ronald?" she asked and sitting up, placing her feet on the ground. "I have my own opinions and I'll make my own decisions, regardless of what yours may be."

"I just thought since you and I, well, we are going to be 'us'," he said, gesturing between the two of them, "I thought that meant you'd support me."

"I really don't want to have this conversation right now," she whispered. "There is no 'us', not right now, and maybe there won't ever be. And even if we were going to be together, I would still make my own decisions, think for myself. You have no say input or sway in that."

He didn't say anything, just looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. Obviously, Lavender hadn't asserted herself with him and her opinions to him.

Sighing, "I'm going to have a shower and get ready for dinner," she said. Leaving him on the couch.

"Sure, dinner."

That would keep him distracted for a while, she thought. She needed to decide what was happening there, and soon. It was getting too complicated.

...  



End file.
